a list of August goals

I am list person. A lister, if you will (no, not a plow with a double moldboard (yes, I looked up “lister” to see if it was already a word)). If you’ve read any of my blog posts, you may have noticed this. I like to list using both periods and commas, depending on the emphasis I want each item in my list to posses (as much as poor grammar bugs me when I notice it in others’ writing, I KNOW I use punctuation in any which way I want to…#sorrynotsorry?)…and sometimes if it feels like the list goes on and on for too long, I’ll throw in a few of these — and keep going. SO, that being said, I’d like to share my latest list with you. I’ll spare you my never-ending to-do list and my to-make, to-bake and to-write lists, but since I’m challenging myself to write & share a little, at least most days, I thought I’d publicly declare my goals for this month.

1. be more intentional about loving, teaching & raising my daughter // her first 6 months of life were so incredibly difficult, I feel like there was no obvious transition from the colicky newborn phase to the doing-new-things & growing-up-way-too-fast phase, so I still have to remind myself to sit and relax and just play and be with her, instead of always wearing her in the wrap or on my hip to get stuff done.

2. get out my camera and play // I’m sure all my fellow hobbyist-turned-professionals (with any interest, not just photography) can relate to loosing a bit of the passion as you more exclusively serve clients and spend less time on the personal pursuit of your craft. I feel less inspired, less creative and less talented when I forget to make time for photography just for me.

3. play my music // at first, I typed “write a song,” but then I remembered how impossible it always was for me to write when I sat down at the piano or with my guitar for the sole purpose of composing a song just because I hadn’t in awhile. Just as I should head-out with my camera in hand and let the moment guide me with no specific expectations, I need to first rekindle the love I had for making music before I can anticipate anything creative taking place. So, step one is for me to play my old songs. The ones I wrote in moments of true feeling — in sadness, joy and sometimes, desperation. The songs I will probably roll my eyes at looking back on the me of 2 — or 10 — years ago.

4. cook one new meal a week // I really lost interest in cooking (and food in general) while pregnant with M, and have yet to view it as anything more than a chore I don’t have time for since she was born. I was never very creative or original in the kitchen, but when Sam & I were first married I did make an effort to cook almost every single night, and a lot of those nights it was something brand-new (thanks, Pinterest). So, in addition to cooking real meals more often (as opposed to baking a chicken breast, heating some frozen veggies & tossing them in couscous), I’d like to challenge myself to prepare new recipes again. I still have at least 1.5 million pinned recipes to try, but my good friend Natasha over at Gather Around Our Table creates her own original recipes and I’m really looking forward to incorporating some of those into our rotation!

5. go on at least one date with my husband // this may not seem like a lofty goal to complete in one month’s time — especially to you non-parents or parents of easy babies — but Sam and I have literally been out, just the two of us, ONCE in the almost 10 months since our family became a trio, and even then the sitter called us after an hour and a half because M was having a really rough time. Needless to say, we are super-duper overdue!

6. read a book // again, this may seem too easy to even be considered a goal, and again, it isn’t for me! I used to love to read as much as I loved to write — especially nerdy science fiction and even nerdier NON-fiction — but that pastime has also camped on the back burner for close to a year now, and it’s time to change that!

7. finally finish the nursery gallery wall // I admit it, I am a fan of the over-popular gallery walls, and I started one in the nursery long before M was born. Although I completed everything else in her (until 2 weeks ago, un-used) nursery, I never did complete my vision for the wall! I’ve got lots of ideas up my sleeve and this month I’d like to take a trip to Hobby Lobby, dedicate a few naptimes to the project & complete it! I’ll be sure to share it here when it’s finished.

8. blog my remaining client sessions // along with at least several personal posts a week, I’d like to get completely caught-up on blogging my most recent client sessions & events. I’ve got 2 births, several families and one bridal session to shoot this month as well, so I’m hoping to have all previous shoots shared by the time I get overwhelmed with editing the new stuff.

phew…I better get started!

As this little blog picks up, I’d like to increasingly share more of my life than just photos from client sessions + events, and I’d love to start with some type of 31 day challenge/topic list if any of you fellow bloggers wouldn’t mind recommending one.

Thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment below if you can relate to anything I said, have suggestions for a newbie blogger, or just want to share your own blog with me — I’d love to follow you back and learn more about the people that somehow stumbled upon this post.